The 2009 Turtle Trot Is Coming!

The 2009 Turtle Trot Is Coming!
Saturday, Sept. 5, 2009 at 7:30 a.m. - Fernandina Beach, Florida

Start of 5K/10K Race

Start of Kid's Run

Late News -- Turtle Trot Special Hotel Rates
If you are coming from out-of-town, you can get Special Turtle Trot hotel rates. For more information, click here

Runners in this year’s Turtle Trot 5K/10K race will get a 7:30 a.m. start to help beat the late-summer heat. Also, for the first time, runners will be able to use the Recreation Center's shower facilities after the race for free! (Bring your own towels!) And after a refreshing shower, race participants can enjoy the day on Amelia Island, including free admission to Fort Clinch State Park. You could even win an Amelia Island Plantation getaway!

"Last year, we added chip timing and it worked better than we could have hoped. This year, we are moving the race up a half hour in response to runners' comments about the heat. Labor Day will always be warm, but the earlier the better," said Jim Hill, volunteer race director for the Amelia Island Runners Club.

"This year's Turtle Trot will truly be a holiday weekend event for the whole family, especially for our out-of-town visitors," said AIR director John McBrearty. "You can do the race, run with your kids in the free fun run, possibly win a door prize or a race award, take a shower, and then visit the Fort Clinch park and pier, beach, nature trails and picnic area, and enjoy the day at the park and in Fernandina Beach."

Runners and walkers will get free admission to Fort Clinch State Park all day on race day by presenting their Turtle Trot race bibs at the guard station. (Admission to the fort itself will still be $2.)

Atlantic Ave. Recreation Center The race will again feature professional scoring from 1st Place Sports in Jacksonville, using an electronic chip-timing system. The 5K, 10K and 1.5-mile noncompetitive walk will start and finish at the Atlantic Avenue Recreation Center, with the last half of the 10K running through Ft. Clinch State Park.

You can view course maps by clicking on 5K Map 10K Map

If you are unfamiliar with the location of the Atlantic Recreation Center, here are some directions.

Half-mile and one-mile fun runs for children 10 and younger will begin at 9 a.m. In another change this year, the kids’ runs will be free. The goal is to encourage young people to run and make the entire event more affordable for families, Hill said. Registration is required, and youth finishers will receive a ribbon at the end of their run.

An awards ceremony will follow the races, along with refreshments and drawings for door prizes. The grand door prize will be a 4-day, 3-night stay at the Amelia Island Plantation. All 5K/10K runners and walkers will be eligible for the drawing, and must be present to win.

A popular feature is returning this year – original T-shirt artwork by Fernandina Beach artist and sea turtle volunteer Sandra Baker-Hinton. She created this artwork specifically as the image for the 2009 Turtle Trot T-shirts and has been working on it for quite some time. She even made changes to it after it had been displayed in an art exhibition. "I had the inside of the shell too bright," which distracted the viewer's eye from the turtles, she said. She added more shells and changed the coloring "so the turtles would be most important." The original artwork is acrylic and also uses pumice to give texture to the sand on the beach. The original is on display and for sale at the Amelia SanJon Fine Art Gallery, 218 Ash St. in Fernandina Beach.

The artist will be at the Turtle Trot post-race events on Sept. 5 and will be happy to autograph your Turtle Trot t-shirt (assuming you didn't wear it in the run!) Everyone who preregisters for the 5K/10K and 1.5-mile noncompetitive walk is guaranteed a shirt; preregistration ends at 2 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 3. Race-day registrants will receive them on a first-come, first-served basis while supplies last. Race proceeds benefit the Amelia Island Sea Turtle Watch and sea turtle patrols inside Fort Clinch State Park, along with the running club’s youth running programs.

Note: Mail-In and Online Pre-Registration ended on Thursday, (9/3).

Packet Pickup is Friday from 7 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. at Club 14 Fitness, 1114 S. 14th St. If anyone has any registration questions they can call 904-277-8365. Everyone will have to pick up their chips on race day at the Rec beginning at 6 a.m.

You will, of course, be able to register on Race Day (9/5) from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. The entry fee for everyone will be $25. However, NO REGISTRATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED AFTER 7:00 A.M. ON THE DAY OF THE RACE.

For more information, please call (904) 277-3676.

You can also review a report on last year's event.

If you have any questions about the event, please e-mail us. We hope you'll join us for the 2009 edition of the Turtle Trot!

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